My Dear General—My advice to you is to choose an object. Just one. But one you truly care about. I’m sure there is something you find beautiful, or unique in the world, or just especially pleasing to look at. #fiction #amwritingscifi #microfiction
My advice to you is to choose an object. Just one. But one you truly care about. I’m sure there is something you find beautiful, or unique in the world, or just especially pleasing to look at. Something you would give your attention, and precious time to, in this desolate place—without being reminded, or pressured. Something you personally find…important to look after.
Hello, as a white person very interested in the greaser subculture, thank you for your posts on it. People aren't very receptive to things they don't want to hear, and can lash out over it, especially white people around race things... as I'm sure you know very well. I was wondering about your thoughts, should I call it 'greaser' subculture? Or do you think it should be called differently?
Hi. I don’t have any kind of in-depth knowledge on this, nothing beyond what you could find by hunting around online for a while. I would suggest you look into it more on your own—apart from what I’ve written here—accumulate a knowledge base and rely on that when speaking to other people. Best of luck.
When I first started writing Prophecy, I wanted to develop a kickass girl warrior who was also a master martial artist. But this was set in the 3rd century, and Tae Kwon Do, as we know it, didn’t develop until after the Japanese occupation of Korea ended in 1945. In large part, this was because of the banning of all martial arts by the Japanese. And right there, I was fascinated. Martial arts banned. So how did Tae Kwon do form then? The answer led me to Taekkyon.
Taekkyon is one of the oldest martial arts of Korea, if not the oldest. Research is a bit divided on its relation to Tae Kwon Do. There are some that believe that Taekkyon is the source of Tae Kwon Do, but Taekkyon purists like to point out how different the two forms are from each other. I think the link is kind of clear, but in either case, the history of Taekkyon is fascinating.
Mural paintings dating back to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (3rd century) show that Taekkyon was a popular art form practiced mostly by the ruling classes and military. In fact, it was part of the soldier’s exam up to the 10th century.
But by the 14th century, Taekkyon had spread to all classes and Taekkyon matches were popular contests at festivals and holiday events, along with archery, sword fights, and wrestling.
This photo above is dated between 1890 and 1900 and was taken by a missionary of a children’s Taekkyon match. Young children competed in Taekkyon and these would be the opening games for annual Taekkyon contests, before the adult matches began.
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, 1910-1945, Taekkyon was completely banned and almost vanished. Legend has it that a sword-wielding Japanese soldier was killed by an unarmed Korean man using only Taekkyon. The Japanese immediately outlawed the practice, stating that it was too deadly, and killing anyone associated with or continuing the teaching of Taekkyon. After many years, the art was nearly forgotten until not that long ago, when an 80-year-old man was seen practicing the movements and an ancient art was reborn.
The truth is probably that Taekkyon was banished because the Japanese did not want Koreans to gather together in large groups — like the Taekkyon contests, and to prevent the spread of Korean nationalism. Because of the Japanese occupation, Taekkyon almost disappeared. After Korea regained her independence, Master Song Duk-Ki (1893∼1987) was the only remaining practitioner of Taekkyon. It was due to his efforts to continue to teach and train people in this ancient martial art form that allowed it to survive. It was designated by the Korean government as an “Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 76” on June 1, 1983.
In the Prophecy Series, Kira and her brothers are trained in Taekkyon. It is an important part of their military training, but for Kira, it is also something special she received from her father. As she practices, she can hear her father’s voice in her head.
“How you fight in combat and how you practice forms are two very different things. The first is self-defense, but the second is art. It is your connection between mind and body.”
The movements of Taekkyon are graceful. They are, at their root, dance steps.
She remembered when she was five years old her father had taken her to see saulabi practicing their taekkyon forms. As they watched the perfect choreography of the soldiers in motion, her father had said, “There’s no dance as perfect as this one.”
King, the final installment of the Prophecy Series, is now out and I am both happy and sad to see the end of the Prophecy Series and Kira’s story. I loved every minute I spent in this fantasy Korea. And I especially loved the characters that peopled the story, especially Kira. I grew as a writer along with Kira (at least I think I did — and belief is a powerful thing!). Kira’s not strong because of her tiger spirit or her Taekkyon training or her proficiency with the bow; she’s strong because of family bonds and love and friendship and a growing belief in her own self-identity. We all have moments where we doubt ourselves and others. Nobody is perfect and nobody has it completely easy. But that is what makes each person so interesting, those moments of humanity where we mess up and learn a lesson. Yeah, I’m mostly talking about myself and my mistakes. :o)
I learned so much from traveling this journey with Kira and her brothers, Taejo and Jaewon, Brother Woojin, Nara and Gom. They will always hold a very special place in my heart. Thank you for letting me share their story with you.
Originally from NYC, Ellen Oh is Co-founder and President of WeNeedDiverseBooks and a former entertainment lawyer with an insatiable curiosity for ancient Asian history. She also loves martial arts films, K-pop, K-dramas, cooking shows, and is a rabid fan of The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra series. She is the author of the YA fantasy trilogy, The Prophecy Series. Ellen lives in Bethesda, Maryland with her husband and three daughters and has yet to satisfy her quest for a decent bagel.
i don’t know… i wish there was a group chat thingy here on tumblr. but … let’s form a sort of tumblr group maybe, a side blog maybe and try to find and reach other tumblrs out there making original music too? i know there are more ppl out there… and let’s not be so isolated together? we can talk about music making, support each other etc? let’s all be friends together? no?
That’s why Anderson Cooper sent the DVD Dorner made and sent to him BACK to Benjamin Bratton and the LAPD, unopened.
The media is on the side of the police, and ALWAYS against our Black asses, and don’t you forget that.
What is the OP talking about?
Christopher Dorner was that black ex cop who killed other cops back in like 2013. He was fired for trying to do the right thing by reporting on his white female partner for using excessive force. She kicked a defenseless man several times in the chest. The video evidence was covered up and he was fired for “giving false testimony against a fellow officer.” He sent a dvd of the evidence to Anderson Cooper with the note “I never lied” on it. Allegedly cooper didn’t open or watch the dvd but sent it to the very police department that the video incriminated. Dorner then went on a revenge killing spree targeting not just officers who he felt had wronged him, but killing their families as well. This resulted in a huge multistate manhunt as he went around targeting and killing people. Ultimately he never faced his day in court because they tried to burn him alive inside the cabin he was hiding out in, he shot him self in the head before the fire reached him.
Who ever thought that he wasn’t? A black man experiencing racism in the police force isn’t a hard thing to believe.
Right. The reason I make the statement every couple years is because every single time, a lot of people comment that they had no idea. And it keeps his name alive. 
me interviewing a woman (yesterday, shannon) for the most recent video i’m putting together. this time it’s not a commercial for a glass blowing class or webinar or a studio rental. it’s for shannon’s post-op fundraising efforts. here, we’re upstairs at Glasscraft’s new studio space on janisse st. in eugene, oregon.
it’s a 3 camera setup. the cam next to me is for the high rez CU. it is capturing sound through both a shotgun mic as well as a radio mic lav kit (antennas). the lens you see on the lower left is my MS (medium shot), and the lens you are looking thru here is my reverse angle, in case i needed to show myself asking her any questions. the reverse angle cam is affixed to the ceiling. the other two cams are on legs (tripods). there is a (2nd) shotgun mic out of frame pointed at me, to capture my questions and prompts on an Edirol stereo digital recorder.
another way i might setup my CU cam is further behind me and a bit more to the (our) right, over my shoulder so the viewer has a more direct alignment with her face, but then i’d not be able to monitor the camera. the canon xf105 has a viewfinder that swivels and faces multiple directions, so i flip it over to face me at the side. then, i can flip my eyes quick and check everything from audio levels to framing to exposure and so on throughout the shoot. ideally you’d want someone else to work the gear while you tended to the human element, but i’ve had to get handy at doing both.
i didn’t have a light kit with me so i seated her next to the window to get some soft, wraparound lighting.
after the interview i grabbed some insert shots and cutaways to help with editing later. pay attention during the shoot for what you feel some good cutaways will be. i chose the decor along the windowpan, which consisted of some glass marbles and an animal skull. i also shot an ECU of the pendant on her neck (she referred to it in our talk), and some long grass waving in the wind out the window–a few times she was gazing outside. cutting to her POV (outside) will help me establish a greater space by connecting her eyeline to what she sees. further, the feeling of lush, breathing, mother nature–waving, green, grass in the sun in a gentle wind–helps reflect the main theme of the interview–life, and her early recovery from cancer surgery.
Here is the end result: https://youtu.be/Vi2cEmtDsGk though I’m sorry to say Shannon didn’t make it. #cancer #filmmaking #stories 
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